Helena firefighters extinguish New Year's Eve blaze

Officials say an electrical fire caused an estimated $100,000 worth of damage to a Helena residence on New Year's Eve.

The fire was reported around 10:15 p.m. Dec. 31 on the 700 block of Rhode Island Street, and the Helena Fire Department responded with all seven on-duty personnel.

The occupants of the residence were not home when the fire started and were unharmed. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire and cleared the smoke from the building.

The fire was ruled accidental.

"The Helena Fire Department would like to remind people to ensure they have working smoke detectors on each level of their homes as well as at least one working carbon monoxide detector. In this incident the smoke detectors were found melted and damaged but still functioning as designed," the department said in a press release.

In addition to the on-duty personnel, off-duty personnel were also called in, along with mutual aid assistance from West Valley Volunteer Fire Department and Montana City Volunteer Fire Department.

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